Clock-movement.



WITNESSES PATENTED MAY 19, 1908. G., J. B. & E. w. SYLVAN. CLOCK MOVEMENT.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 1.3, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

-' /NVENTO/?5 3 GUSTAF SY JOHANNES B. SYLVAN EMH. W. SYLVAN,

i ATTORNEYS- THE uonms pzrzns ca WASHINGTON, D c

WITNESSES PATENTED MAY 19, 1908.

G., J. B. & E. W. SYLVAN. 8

CLOCK MOVEMENT.

APPLIGATION FILED SEPT-13,1907.

lllll a 8 I 2 v INVENTOHS GusTnF SYLVAN,

.7 57 ATTORNEYS Tn! NORRIS PETERS cm, WASHINGTON. 0. c.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

GUSTAF SYLVAN, JOHANNES B. SYLVAN, AND EMIL WILHELM SYLVAN, OF COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA.

CLOCK-MOVEMENT.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, GUSTAF SYLVAN, J o- HANNES B. SYLVAN, and. EMIL WILHELM SYLVAN, citizens of'the United States, residing at Columbia, in the county of Richland and State of South Carolina, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Clock- Movements, of whichthe following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide means for securing a more uniform transmission of powerfrom the main spring of a clock, or watch, to its escapement, to render the same more accurate in its time keeping values. It is well known that when the main spring is wound up to its maximum tension, it transmits its power more energetically than when it is relaxed and nearly run down. The invention is designed to overcome this irregularity and to render the transmission of power to the escapement substantially uniform throughout the entire range of the un winding movement of the main spring, and to that end it has already been proposed to interpose in the train of gears between the main spring and the escapement, a secondary intermediate spring which is wound up in an automatic manner by the main spring at regular intervals and which intermediate spring transmits its tension to the escapement, so that the escapement is always actuated by this intermediate spring.

Our invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of trip and locking devices for bringing into action the main spring to wind up the intermediate spring, and to stop the main springs action after it has thus wound up the intermediate spring. F igure 1 is a side elevation of so much of a clock movement as is necessary to illustrate our invention, thecovering plate of the attachment being removed. Fig. 2 is a view of the same looking edgewise the gear wheels and showing the cover plate applied. Fig. 3 is an enlarged section taken through the-intermediate clock spring and its immediate connections. Fig. 4 is a detail in perspective of the trip and lock devices detached. Fig.

, 5 is a side view and Fig. 6 an edge view of a modified form of the invention and Figs. 7 and 8 are details of the same.

In the drawing, Figs. 1 and 2, A represents the front and A the back plate of the frame of the clock movement, between which the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 13, 1907.

' Patented May 19, 1908.

Serial No. 392,726.

various gears of an ordinary clock movement are contained.

A is a supplemental front plate, shown in Fig. 2, but removed in Fig. 1, and between which and the usual front plate A the principal parts of our attachment are contained.

B is the usual main spring with barrel, winding-shaft, ratchet and pawl. To this barrel, see Fig. 2, is attached the main drive wheel 1 whose teeth mesh with and turn the pinion 2. Ordinarily this pinion 2 transmits its power through the gear wheels 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 to the escapement C. In the present invention, however, the pinion 2 is not directly connected to the gear wheel 3, but only indirectly through the interposition of the intermediate spring which is wound up intermittently by the main spring B and which intermediate spring transmits its derived power through the train of gears 3,4, 5, 6 and 7 to the escapement, so that the clock time-mechanism is driven through the intermediate spring instead of by the main spring direct, as hereafter more fully described.

The intermediate spring and its accessories are contained between the frame plates A and A, in Fig. 2, and the principalparts of it are shown detached in Fig.3-in which 2 is the same pinion shown at 2 in Fig. 2 which is driven by the main gear 1 on the spring barrel. This pinion 2, Fig. 3, is rigidly attached to a shaft a which on its outer end has a squared portion a/ fittin the squared hole of a gear wheel D to which is rigidly connected a spring barrel D containing the intermediate coil spring E which is of sufficient length and tension to run the clock through the predetermined intervals of its winding by the main spring. One end e of this spring is attached to the barrel D and the other end 6 is attached to the hub of the gear wheel 3 which gear wheel is loose on the shaft a. One of the outer convolutions of this intermediate coilspring E is caught by a split or bifurcated pin b attached at right angles to a trip lever b on the outer side of gear wheel D. This split pin plays in a slot d, Figs. 3 and 4, in the side of the spring barrel and has a motion to or from the center according as the spring is wound up and restricted or relaxed and expanded.

As seen in Fig. 3 the spring E is wound up and constricted and the split pin 1) is nearest to the center of the shaft a and in the inner end of the slot (1, but when this spring is expanded and run down, the pin 6 is forced by the outer convolution of the spring to go to the outer end of the slot d. This movement of the pin b to or from the center is made to effect the starting and stopping of the intermittent winding of the intermediate spring E as follows: The trip lever b is bowed. or elbow-shaped, as seen in Fig. 1, and when its pin 6 is at the inner position, as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4, (the intermediate spring E being wound up) the outer end of lever 7) abuts against a locking lever (Z, as in- Figs. 1 and 4. The lever d is pressed against lever b by a spring d and as the wheel D is strained in the direction of the arrow by the pressure of the main spring through pinion 2 and shaft (1, it will be seen that the lever d is tilted on its pivot against spring (i In this position of parts the intermediate spring E (under tension) is turning the loose gear wheel 3, Fig. 3, and is actuating the clock gears 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 leading to the escapement. I/Vhen, however, the spring E runs down, after the predetermined period, the expansion of the spring carries the split pin 12 to the outermost portion, and 111 doing so, see Fig. 1

throws the trip end I) (which is resting against lock lever d) inwardly and off the lock lever, and, the gear wheel D, being now free to turn in the direction of the arrow from the power of the main spring, turns a complete revolution and in doing so winds up the intermediate spring, and the lever 6 again strikes lock lever d and stops the further movement of the main spring. To hold the wheel D against back movement a detent e is held against its teeth by spring 6.

If there were nothing to prevent it, the powerful strength of the main spring would wind up the intermediate spring with a jerk and a sharp impact. To prevent this the gear wheel D has its teeth engaging a pinion 8, Fig. 1, on the same shaft with gear wheel 9 and gear wheel 9 turns the pinion 10 of a fly fan 11. This fly fan is held by the upper end of the lock bar d, as seen in Fig. 1, but whenever the lock lever d is tilted by its spring (Z (after lever b'has tripped it) this same movement releases the fly fan and then two actions occur simultaneously. One of these actions is the winding of the intermediate spring by the main spring and the other is the retarding of the winding-up movement by the rapid rotation of the fly fan, so that all shocks and jars are avoided. As a modification of this retarding mechanism, we may employ the means shown in Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8. In this modification we use, in the place of the fly fan, a vibrating escapement such as is used to vibrate the hammer of an alarm clock. The shaft a with a square end a, pinion 2, intermediate spring E, barrel D, gear wheel D and split pin are exactly the same as in Figs. 1 to 4. The changes are as follows. The gear wheel D has pivoted to it a pawl b a which bears the split pin 6 passing through the slot d and. engaging the outer convolution of the spring E as seen in Fig. 8. A loose arm (1 a vibrates on the hub 01' gear wheel D and has a locking tooth y adapted to be engaged by the pawl b a when spring, E is completely wound up. The loose arm a has a pin a: that stops against a bent wire 15 fixed to a pallet escapcment 14 vibrating on the teeth of wheel 13. This wheel is on the same shaft with pinion 12 which latter is engaged by the teeth of wheel D, so that when wheel D turns, the pallet escapement 14 vibrates as in the hammer mechanism of an alarm clock. WVhen spring E is wound up, pawl b a strikes lug y and holds the stop arm d a and pin 00 against the escapement wire 15, but .when spring E is expanded and run down, pawl b a leaves lug y and wheel D can then turn from the action of the main spring to wind up the intermediate spring, as be fore described, and arm cl a being released from bearing against wire 15 the escapcment produces the same retarding effect that the fly fan did in the first described form, with the difference that the fly fan is nearly noiseless, while the vibrating pallet produces a buzzing sound. hen the wheel D makes its complete revolution, (in winding up the intermediate spring) the pawl b a, being carried toward the center by the constricted spring E, strikes against lug y and stops the winding action leaving the main spring at rest until the next winding movement and the pin it pressing against wire 15 stops the escapement.

In making use of our invention, we do not confine it to clocks and watches, but may use it in the transmission gears of all kinds of spring motors, it being especially useful for such spring motors as are employed in phonograph and graphophone machines, or any other mechanism which requires to be run. at a uniform rate of speed.

e claim I 1. A spring motor transmission gear for clocks 850., comprising a main spring with winding mechanism, an escapement and gears connecting the main spring and escapement, said gears having interposed in. their train an intermediate spring, arranged to be wound up at intervals by the main spring and to transmit its power directly to the escapement, locking devices for holding the main spring inactive during the action of the intermediate spring and a trip device for releasing the locking device when the intermediate spring becomes relaxed and for bringing the main spring into winding action again, said trip device consisting of a stop bar connected to one of the outer convolutions of the intermediate spring and movable to or from the center of the same.

2. In a spring motor transmission gear for clocks &c., the combination of a Windin shaft bearing a rigid pinion and a squared end, a rigidly connected gear Wheel and barrel on said squared shaft, a coil spring arranged Within the barrel and having one end attached to the same, a loose gear Wheel on said shaft attached to the other end of the spring, a trip lever having a pin acted upon by the expansion and contraction of the. coils of the spring and a trip device for the trip lever.

3. In a spring motor transmission gear for clocks &c., the combination of avvinding shaft bearing a rigid pinion and a squared end a rigidly connected gear Wheel and barrel on said squared shaft, a coil spring arranged Within the barrel and having one end attached to the same, a loose gear Wheel on said shaft attached to the other end of the spring, a trip lever having a pin acted upon by the expansion and contraction of the coils of the spring, a stop device for the trip lever, and a retarding device for the Winding shaft and.

gear wheel.

4. In a motor transmission gear for clocks &c., the combination with the prime motor and escapement gears; of an intermediate spring, a gear Wheel attached to the inner end of the same, a gear Wheel parallel With the first named and having a housing attached to the outer end of the intermediate spring, a

central shaft rigidly connected to the housing gear, a lever on the outside of the housing gear and parallel With it and having a pin operated upon by the outer coil of the interme diate spring, a movable stop device for said lever and a speed retarding device held by said stop device.

5. A transmission gear for clocks &c., comprising a prime motor, an escapement and gears connecting the prime motor and escapement, said gears having interposed in their train an intermediate spring, arranged to be Wound up at intervals by the prime motor and to transmit its power directly to the escapement, locking devices for holding the prime motor inactive during the action of the intermediate spring and a trip device for releasing the locking device when the intermediate spring becomes relaxed and for bringing the prime motor into Winding action again, said trip device consisting of a stop bar connected to one of the outer convolutions of the intermediate spring and movable to and from the center of the same.

GUSTAF SYLVAN. J OHANNES B. SYLVAN. EMIL WILHELM SYLVAN.

Witnesses:

J. T. MELToN, JNo. L. MILLER. 

